Head Injuries Are Most Common Injury in Teen Crashes

More Than 55,000 teen drivers and teen passengers seriously injured each year

PHILADELPHIA, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to a new teen driver safety report released today by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm®, from among more than 55,000 teen drivers and their passengers seriously injured each year in 2009 and 2010, 30 percent suffered head injuries, including concussion, skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). While the report highlights an impressive decline in teen driver-related fatalities over the past six years, researchers are concerned about the burden of motor vehicle crash-related brain injury on families and the Nation's health care system. Crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens and kill nearly five times as many 15- to 19-year-olds as cancer or poisoning.

"Since full recovery from serious head injuries is often not achievable, there can be a significant life-long impact from these injuries on teens and their families," says Dennis R Durbin, MD, MSCE, lead author of the report and co-scientific director for the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "The brain is the organ that is least able to heal, so prevention is the best medicine."

Policies and programs focused on Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) and increasing seat belt use are proven effective strategies.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of TBI-related death among 15- to 19-year-olds. The annual report, called Miles to Go: Monitoring Progress in Teen Driver Safety, charts significant progress between 2005 and 2010 in efforts to reduce the number and impact of teen driver crashes and related fatalities. During this time, the number of teen drivers that died in crashes declined 46 percent – from 2,399 to 1,305 deaths. Deaths among their passengers also declined 41 percent, from 1,777 to 1,022. In 2010, 1,849 fewer teen drivers and their passengers perished in crashes as compared to 2005.  Researchers say this is a substantial public health achievement for those in traffic safety.

The researchers noted significant variation in fatality rates among states–ranging from a low of 3.9 deaths per 100,000 teens in Massachusetts to a high of 29.1 per 100,000 teens in Montana in 2009-2010. The average annual fatality rate for all 50 states was 9.5 deaths per 100,000 teens.  

It's in this variation that researchers see opportunities to realize further reductions in fatality rates. The dramatic variation is due, at least in part, to the strength of a state's GDL law.  Twelve states implemented comprehensive GDL policy and other programs to reduce their teen fatality rate by more than 50 percent in just six years. Five states — Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island – have maintained rates of less than 10 crash-related deaths per 100,000 teens since 2005-2006. All five states have comprehensive GDL laws.

"The differences in fatality rates from state to state show that much more can be done to improve policies to more consistently prevent deaths among teen drivers and their passengers," said Chris Mullen, director of Technology Research, Strategic Resources at State Farm Insurance. "States with comprehensive GDL laws have lower fatality rates than those with weaker laws. Primary seat belt laws and teen-focused initiatives to increase seat belt use will also help further reduce deaths and injuries, even if a crash occurs."

A comprehensive GDL law includes at least 50 hours of adult-supervised practice under varied conditions; limits teen passengers for the first year of independent driving; restricts unsupervised nighttime driving; requires seat belt use for the driver and all passengers; and prohibits cell phone use.

"We should use the success stories in states with the greatest reductions to fuel progress in states still burdened with high numbers of teens dying in crashes and suffering serious brain injuries," says Dr.  Durbin. "Those success stories typically involved comprehensive GDL and primary enforcement belt laws."

The authors recommend that many of the states with teen crash fatality rates above the national average (9.5 per 100,000) close gaps in their GDL policy to reduce fatality rates. They also suggest utilizing evidence-based programs aimed at increasing belt use, reducing distractions, and teaching key driving skills, such as speed control and hazard detection, in keeping teens safe on the road.

For the complete report, videos, and for more information on teen driver safety, visit www.teendriversource.org.

About the research partnership between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm®

Motor vehicle crashes remain the No. 1 cause of death among teens in the United States. Teen drivers (ages 16 to 19) have fatal crashes at four times the rate of adult drivers (ages 25 to 69). To reduce injury and death from young driver-related crashes through scientific research and outreach, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm Insurance Companies have been conducting research and providing evidence-based resources to stakeholders and families since 2006. The multidisciplinary research team at CHOP employs comprehensive, rigorous methods to understand and predict teen driver crashes, in order to prevent them. We continuously update and share the latest information and tools to help prevent teen driver crashes on our web site teendriversource.org.

About The Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

The Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was established in 1998 to advance the safety and health of children, adolescents, and young adults through comprehensive research that encompasses before-the-injury prevention to after-the-injury healing. The Center's multidisciplinary research team, with expertise in Behavioral Sciences; Medicine; Engineering; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Human Factors; Public Health; and Communications, translates rigorous scientific research into practical tools and guidelines for families, professionals, and policymakers to ensure research results extend to the real world. For more information on the Center and its research initiatives, visit injury.research.chop.edu.

About State Farm

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. Our 17,800 agents and more than 66,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®. 

SOURCE The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia